Cost: Variable
Appearance (not to be confused with Frequency of Appearance) is a physical trait that may be an advantage, a disadvantage, or a 0-point feature.[1]
Fundamentals[]
SE42 distinguishes two types:
- Personal Appearance
- Racial Appearance
GURPS City Stats allows cities to have an Appearance (Androgynous)
At its extreme ends, it may not be suitable for player characters. It is often referenced in bargaining with merchants[2][3][4]. It has totally variable affects on other races, depending on the genre. GURPS Space mentions the affect of Appearance between races.[5]
Note: Classic Appearance had different point totals.
Levels of Appearance[]
Cities are automatically Androgynous (An,). Only cities of gods, demons, alien super races, or similar beings can be Horrific, Monstrous, or Transcendent as they cause Fright Checks as for Terror.
| Lvl | Cost | Reaction | An. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transcendent | 20 | +2/+8 | +5 |
| Very Handsome/Beautiful | 16 | +2/+6 | +4 |
| Handsome/Beautiful | 12 | +2/+4 | +3 |
| Attractive | 4 | +1 | +1 |
| Average | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unattractive | -4 | -1 | |
| Ugly | -8 | -2 | |
| Hideous | -16 | -4 | |
| Monstrous | -20 | -5 | |
| Horrific | -24 | -6 |
Special Options[]
"Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn!" --Galadriel, an impressive and possibly universal-upgraded character
- Androgynous (0%) -- convert positive bonuses to universal, with Handsome/Beautiful becoming +3, VH/VB becoming +4, and +5 for Transcendent.
- Impressive (0%) -- converts positive bonuses like Androgynous, but into a supernatural, impressive presence rather than sexual. Cities that are Beautiful, Very Beautiful, or Transcendent are automatically Impressive[6]
- Enhancements: Universal (+25%) -- Applies to all creatures! This modifier tends to be used by supernatural entities whose appearance matches the ideals of the observer. This can be used to get the same point totals as in Classic excepts for Very Handsome which was [25] rather then the [20] this produces.
- Impressive + Universal may inspire awe and surprise--
- Limitations: Off-the-Shelf Looks (-50%) -- A modifier for worlds where magic or ultratech has made certain appearances very common. You get half the usual reaction within your own culture, but it's all new elsewhere.
- Per GURPS Zombies Appearance (Monstrous; Universal, +25%) [-25] or Appearance (Horrific; Universal, +25%) [-30] replaces Supernatural Features (No Body Heat, No Pulse, Pallor) [-20] for undead that have begun to decay.
Kromm Quotes[]
Sean Punch has commented on Appearance in the following posts to the SJG GURPS Forums:
- On its pricing
- On being purely physical
- On its not declining automatically with age: [1], [2]
- On the effect of the Universal enhancement [3], [4]
- On Appearance versus Social Stigma: Monster [5], [6]
- On Morph and Appearance
- On the unrealistic nature of Transcendent Appearance
- On the unrealistic nature of Appearance altogether
Inversion[]
Saya no Uta (Song of Saya) is video game where the main character suffers from a type of agnosia that inverts the appearance of everything he sees so what is average to beautiful as hideous and what is hideous as beautiful. Something similar to this is the twist of the Twilight Zone episode "Eye of the Beholder"
Fanon Use[]
Appearance is best used as a modifier that players can rely on in social interactions. Those +1s are the bread and butter of a naturally charismatic character!
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ Basic Set, p. 21
- ↑ Dungeon Fantasy, p.15
- ↑ GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 3: The Next Level, p.5 and p.14-15
- ↑ GURPS Fantasy, p. 128
- ↑ GURPS Space, p. 221
- ↑ GURPS City Stats p 6